Colorado parents alarmed man's kidnapping charges may be dropped
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AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) Concerned parents are speaking out after learning the District Attorney plans to drop charges against a man accused of trying to kidnap a child right in front of an Aurora Elementary School, which was all caught on camera.

Solomon Galligan, 34, was charged back in April of last year on one count of attempted kidnapping, but soon those charges will be dropped.

Galligen was found mentally incompetent to stand trial. By law, the district attorney in this case, the 18th Judicial District Attorney has to drop the charges, but parents are not happy.

“I found out Monday morning,” said concerned parent Dante White. “My son’s mother sent me an article about it. I was absolutely blown away. Kind of in shock, confused, angry.”

White explains the rollercoaster of emotions after learning the charges are being dropped against the suspect pictured in this still image of surveillance video. Galligen is accused of trying to kidnap an 11-year-old boy last year from the playground of Black Forest Hills Elementary School. This is after court documents reveal Galligan was originally found competent.

The defense challenged that and a second evaluation was performed. The results came back last month, indicating that he was incompetent.

“I was completely ignorant of the laws that are in play here. At first, thinking the DA was dropping the ball here,” said White. “That was my first initial reaction. Then I started researching the law that’s behind this. It lets people who are deemed incompetent to stand trial just literally walk in a lot of cases. I hope they get more than 72 hours, as I’ve heard. I heard the minimum of being held and the maximum they can get is one year. I’m looking for one year because change doesn’t happen in a long weekend. This person has habitually wronged the community and they are  people doing violent things and they need the help they need.”

White even spoke to his son, who graduated from the school last year, about the news.

“I didn’t want him to see a news article or a broadcast or hear from someone else. I let him know this is happening, this is why this is happening after educating myself,” said White.

affiliate KDVR learned from Aurora police that Galligan is a sex offender with a registry linked to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.

“Just trying to gather a coalition, really and let everyone know this is one incident right, but this could happen to anybody,” said White. “There’s plenty of cases where this is happening currently. Other people who might be victims of DUI crashes, or attempted murders, things like that and if these people are deemed incompetent and there’s no space in the mental health facilities, they get to go.”

White plans to continue to fight for accountability, truth and justice to create change

“It’s bigger than the school, bigger than what happened to the children. This is something where the community needs to be involved and understand this can affect you any shape or form,” said White. “I want people to reach out to the DA and understand that we do have power and voice and understand this is the time to actually look at the laws that are being passed. The people we’re voting into law this is the time where we need to do that.”

The district attorney’s office says Galligan will not be back on the streets when the charges are dropped. They say he’ll be admitted to a mental health facility.

White said, “I’m looking for the same thing. I’ll stay steadfast in what I was looking for which is  accountability, truth, and justice. I want to see change in the mental health laws, I want to see change in actually funding mental health. I want to make sure lawmakers are cognizant in exactly what they are passing at the time and how this really truly affects people. At the end of the day I want people to wake up and realize that we can come together and make things like this happen.”

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